Ven Pongal or Khara Pongal is the most easy and simple breakfast recipe. It is very popular in South India. It is prepared using rice and moong dal along with other spices. It is usually served with sambar and chutney.
Preparation time – 10 min
Cooking time – 15 min
Serves – 4 to 6
Ingredients for Pressure cooking:
Rice – 1 1/2 cups
Moong dal – 3/4 cup
Ghee / clarified butter – 1 tsp
Water – 4 cups
Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp
Salt – as per your taste
Tempering:
Ginger – 1/2 inch chopped finely
Curry leaves – few chopped
Black peppercorns – 1 tsp coarsely crushed
Cashews – 10 chopped into small pieces
Cumin seeds / Jeera – 1 tsp
Green Chilies – 2 sliced lenghtwise
Ghee / clarified butter – 2 tbsp
Method:
1. Wash the rice and the moong dal together couple of times and soak it in the water for 30 min. After 30 min drain the water from the rice and moong dal and set aside.
In a pressure pan add in 1 tsp of ghee and allow it to heat up. Now add in the rice and the moong dal and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add in 4 cups of water, salt and the asafoetida. Mix well and cover the pressure pan and let it whistle for 3 times and switch off the stove. Let the pressure goes down completely before removing the lid.
2. In a separate pan add in 2 tbsp of ghee and allow it to heat up. When the ghee is hot add in the cumin seeds/jeera and saute for 30 sec. Now add in the ginger, green chilies and the curry leaves and saute till the raw smell of ginger goes away. Add the cashews, black peppercorns and saute well.
3. Now add all the sauteed tempering ingredients to the rice and dal mixture and mix well.
Enjoy the Ven pongal / Khara pongal with Sambar or Coconut chutney.
